Monday 30 September 2013

Um...

I've been feeling a little uninspired about the flat recently, the big decluttering mission was kind of started by this. I just felt like I was sick of everything we owned and it all is just rubbish and I want to get rid of all our crap and start again...ever have those days? I'm having one of those months I think!

I just keep looking at our flat and wondering how we got so.much.stuff. Seriously, where does it all come from!? I also feel like it's getting in the way of the place looking how I want it to. We have things I don't really love but that are functional and we would need to save up to replace (bed, turtle tank, coffee table) which is fair enough and I know we'll get there in the end (although sometimes I wish we could just buy it all now!) but there is also a lot of stuff I just cannot see why we have!

The the flat just looks so 'blah' sometimes, I just feel like it's not how I want it to be. I don't know if it's just frustration that the to do list isn't progressing as fast as I'd like, or that as we've been living here nearly a year now the novelty is starting to wear of the 'new' flat. This might be a part of renting, not being able to really make your mark on a home so always feeling like it isn't quite right. What do you think? I know certainly at our last rental I felt a lot more ownership and pride in the decor there as we were allowed to paint and do DIY (although I didn't want to spend too much time and money doing anything much). Whereas here the place is nicer but we aren't allowed to do anything so it maybe is a bit impersonal. Any tenants out there feeling the same? 

However, we also have a lot of stuff that I just do not like at all that were mistake buys, or gifts, or were once useful but now serve no purpose other than getting in the way. I think this might be clouding my judgement a bit as I just can't see past it all at the moment (e.g. the living room is a constant mess and there are always things out on the kitchen counters as the cupboards are full so I'm never happy with those 2 rooms). Once I've decluttered the place I'm really going to try not to keep so much but I know I'm a hoarder at heart. This is the problem really, I can never get rid of things one by one, it takes a realisation like this that we are getting overrun with things to kick start me into getting rid en masse. Hopefully once I've gone through this process and gotten rid of some clutter I might be able to 'see the woods for the trees' and I might get a bit more inspiration...

Don't worry there are plenty of projects and posts coming up it's not like I'm out of ideas, just feeling a little unsure of what direction I'm going with this place at the moment.

Do you know any ways to keep the amount of clutter to a minimum? Please share if you do!!

Friday 27 September 2013

Friday Inspiration

Long work week this week, it's pretty quiet which is so unusual and was nice for about 10 minutes but now it's boring!

After the post on Monday I got a letter from N Power on Tuesday, saying thank you for contacting us about your energy account we will change the account into your name. Dated last week...um what? Our account should've closed in January! Rang them up yesterday to be told they are still working out the bills, as the meter reading on 10th Nov last year was not believed to be correct...Wait WHAT no DECEMBER our account was opened I don't care about what happened in November because we did.not.live.here.then. Deep breaths don't shout. They had lost the meter reading again and had our account as opened from November last year...I lost it. I did apologise to the guy but I just cannot believe it. I've given the opening reading to them AGAIN (I kept it as we had never had the final bill) and the bloke I spoke to has raised an official complaint on my behalf. They drive me to like actual rage, why is is so hard to just send me a bill?!

Anyway, onto the nicer things...

This clear lucite trunk is a funky take on a traditional idea.
Could I just spend the weekend here?
Or in California in front of these gorgeous windows?


Wednesday 25 September 2013

Week 4

Week 4 of the decluttering mission in our household, you can see the previous posts here, here, here, here and here.

Under the bed finally got done this week, and it looks great! Before:

The cardboard box had Avon stuff in and I gave that up last year so that went straight in the 'to go' pile, the rest is bedding, wrapping paper, cosmetics, candle making supplies, and a small Christmas tree. If the tree doesn't get used this year it will go too but I wasn't sure so kept it for now.
After:


I wanted everything under there to be in a storage box, as some of the stuff that came out was so covered in dust and cat hair it had to go in the bin! It also will make it easier to hoover under there every now and then (you can see all the dust I dragged out on the carpet in the before pics!) if I can just pull a few boxes out and hoover under rather than finding stuff like this
Gross.

The rest of the week was:
 Bedroom – Under the bed - Weds
 Bedroom – Under the bed - Thurs
 Bedroom – Drawers - Fri
 Bedroom – Surfaces - Sat
 Bedroom – Misc - Sun
 Living room – DVD’s - Mon
 Living room – Corner by DVD’s - Wed

So pretty much finishing off the bedroom over the weekend, I just went through the drawers in the corner (mostly empty already after this clear out) then went over the surfaces. Then I gave it all a good tidy up as it had been a disaster area for a week!
The clothes on the bed were all for listing on ebay again as it was a free listing weekend (check them out here if you want a bargain!)

Starting on the living room is great as this corner has been doing my head in...
It has just collected clutter! Once it's clear I may actually move the sofa in a little to stop the junk collecting. Although before we moved we had a massive DVD clear out we till brought a lot of DVD's with us, and have watched about 3 of them since! So we decided most of them could go.
Before (bookshelf on the left)
Now:
Empty shelves! Although the DVDs have actually only moved about 3ft away to here as I need to check with Tom before getting rid of them all!
We're making such good progress, the to go pile is getting so big I had to reorganise it so we could get in and out of the front door! Pictures next week once we've done the living room as it will be even bigger!

Have any of you been decluttering? I'm actually having a whale of a time doing this, and I'm dreaming about styling up those empty bookshelves with some ornaments and maybe a few nice hardback books...

Monday 23 September 2013

Utility Nightmares

We watch Watchdog on the BBC, and last week there was a feature on N Power and their poor treatment of customers, I have experienced this from them. It also reminded me that in my first ever post I said I would write about how to get services and utilities you want in a rented place and I haven't done it yet! Completely forgot about it, so I'll do this one then a series on other rental specific issues with services and utilities. 

Update: 26/9/13 -  I got a letter from N Power on Tuesday, saying thank you for contacting us about your energy account we will change the account into your name. Dated last week...um what? Our account should've closed in January! Rang them up yesterday to be told they are still working out the bills, as the meter reading on 10th Nov last year was not believed to be correct...Wait WHAT no DECEMBER our account was opened I don't care about what happened in November because we did.not.live.here.then. Deep breaths don't shout. They had lost the meter reading again and had our account as opened from November last year...I lost it. I did apologise to the guy but I just cannot believe it. I've given the opening reading to them AGAIN (I kept it as we had never had the final bill) and the bloke I spoke to has raised an official complaint on my behalf. They drive me to like actual rage, why is is so hard to just send me a bill?!

Update 29/10/13 - I got a letter on 3/10 before we went on holiday (to the wrong address) asking us to contact them for more information. I emailed them as it was too late to ring by the time I opened the letter and we were going on holiday the next day. So I sent an email to say I was going away, I had told them I was going away over the phone the week before, something along the lines of please god do not ring me while I am on holiday just correct the address and send me a goddamn bill. I got a letter when we got home (again to the wrong address) saying they had tried to ring me (while I was on holiday) and needed me to ring them, well I tried last week, twice, waited on hold for nearly an hour in total, then gave up. Then the other day I get another letter (addressed to me at the right address - progress!) in response to my email 3 weeks ago, saying sorry, my complaint has been recognised and they will contact me by email from now on. no bill. nothing since then via post or email. It's just getting beyond a joke now, I give up. 
If we ever get this bill do you think they'll wait 10 months for payment? 

Disputes with utility companies
We have had problems at 2 properties, but with the same company (guess who). It was really due to lack of experience the first time at our first maisonette, I didn’t realise we could change! They were trying to charge us over £100 a month for electricity alone (the place had gas heating and hot water!). I kept sending meter readings and they kept saying they were incorrect. They once sent us a massive bill saying it was accurate as a meter reader had been out, although neither of us had let them in to read the meter (it was inside the property) they would not concede that they may had read the gas meter by accident (which was outside) or the wrong meter altogether (maybe for the maisonette downstairs). In the end when we moved I left them our final meter reading which they still said was wrong, and told them if they wanted to send someone out they’d have to take that up with the letting agents as we were moving out that day. We received a cheque in the post a few weeks later for a refund and went on a weekend break to London with the money (it was quite a considerable amount). I felt vindicated that they had refunded us, but we never received an apology or any admission of fault from them. We should really have changed supplier long before we moved out, do not feel like to have to battle on with an expensive or unreasonable company just because they supplied the place when you moved in.
I have never gone back to that company again although every place I move into seems to be with them, I think it’s punishment for my sins. At the 2 places after this the first bill was very expensive before we moved to another company. Not that bad but a bit of a pain considering I swore never to deal with them again moving out of the maisonette, only to discover the new house used them!
Then at our current place I rang them to set up the account and give them opening meter reading on 1st December, the day we moved in. They then just completely lost the plot with our bills. 
  • We kept getting bills addressed to ‘the occupier’ for weeks, from before we moved in, but extending into after we had moved in (like Oct-Dec). I needed a bill for after we moved in, and they needed to send anything from before that to the landlord.
  • I rang them to query these bills, they had no record of the account or the meter reading I had waited on hold for over 30 minutes to give them when setting up the account, the customer service person said I must not have done it. I'm sorry, I know I'm not the cleverest person sometimes but I know I had set up the account, and my phone bill that month for the over 30 minute premium rate call served as a good reminder. So had a rant about why their company was so incompetent, apologised for shouting at the customer service girl on Christmas eve (I hate that, I get it at work, and it’s not personally her fault) and I set it all up again giving them the opening reading again.
  • We had already registered with another company and I was just waiting for the changeover date so I could give them the closing reading and be done with them. We got this midway through January and I gave them the closing meter reading and was assured a bill would be on the way to us.
  • I have still not had the final bill. We had a few more incorrect bills addressed to ‘the occupier’ for the wrong time periods and not with the meter readings I had provided, then nothing for months. I rang them each time we got an incorrect bill and numerous times chasing up the last bill, on a premium number and waiting on hold etc usual story when calling places like this. Every time I rang I was told that the correct bill would come eventually, and to disregard any ones not addressed to me, so that’s what I've done.
  •  I sent in a complaint to their customer service email documenting all of this and am keeping the response (same again saying the bill will come eventually) to show that I tried in case they say I didn't pay or something, all I want is the correct bill so I can pay it but they seem to be in no rush so I'm not going to keep calling them, this was over 9 months ago.

I refuse to chase them any more to send me a bill, the gas was simple (British Gas – always very good have used them before just found a cheaper supplier this time), ring with opening meter readings, then new supplier takes over and we send them a closing meter reading, they send us a bill, we pay. Why the electricity could not be this simple is beyond me.
I would not recommend N Power, but if you have similar problems some tips are:
  • Change supplier if they are a major hassle, unless they’re really cheap and you are willing to put up with it because of this. You should definitely compare prices to make sure you’re getting the best deal and not being overcharged, there are loads of price comparison websites for this. Other companies we have used are way less trouble, we just pay the bills, give them meter readings occasionally and sometimes we even build up a bit of credit.
  • If you are having problems and you call them to query things or complain, write down the name of who you speak to, the time of the call and the date, and what you discussed. Then you have specifics if you need to make a complaint, or if they make demands on you about payment you have been told you do not need to make.
  • Keep any incorrect bills they send you and write on them when you called and what the person told you to do (with their name and the date and time).
  •  Most companies will record calls, and some will send you a transcript if you ask them to. I haven’t done this with a utility company before but have with the people I ordered my glasses from last year, ask if they offer something similar and get it emailed to you.
  •  Meter readings – If they tell you your readings are incorrect but you’re sure they’re correct, then ask them to send someone out to read it. It isn't hard to read a meter, you just read out to them what the meter says. However you never know if you might be doing something wrong, or the meter could even be faulty. If they send someone out who gets the same meter reading as you then they have no argument! Our first issue was that they had meter readings taken by someone they allegedly sent out, but our readings were less than these, so we had used negative electricity! However it was their original reading that was wrong (nobody read the meter I don’t know where they got it from) not our reading, and the bills they sent us were definitely incorrect. If someone had actually read the meter it would probably have sorted the issue out. 
  • There is a number on each meter (called a meter number funnily enough), if your readings are not tallying up with theirs make sure you are both reading the same meter by comparing what meter number you have. Make sure the number on your meter matches the one on your account. Especially if you live in a flat, or somewhere where meters are all together for different properties. 
  • Don’t pay any bills that are not addressed to you by name, and do not take responsibility for anything before you moved in – this is the responsibility of the landlord or previous tenant. Forward any unpaid bills from before you moved in to your landlord or lettings agent.
That's our story with N Power and our reasons for never.ever.ever. using them again. Have any of you had any bad experiences, share your pain in the comments!

Friday 20 September 2013

Friday Inspiration

A pretty bring week here really! Work, work, climbing, walking dead season 2 on DVD (no spoilers please we've not finished it yet!), work, work, climbing, work...pretty standard. The bouldering room at the warehouse is back open properly after all the refurbishments so spending a lot of time there and hoping to get back into the 3 times a week routine.

The wedding fitness plan is in full swing and I'm going climbing so often as I'm pretty rubbish at dieting, anyone who's tried to deal with me when I'm hungry or have nothing in the house that I like to eat will concur...offer me a salad or a diet bar and you may end up wearing it! Case in point yesterday at work my colleague and I were debating whether to eat the chocolate éclairs in the fridge (well I was waiting for her to open the packet) another colleague said 'ooh 300 calories in each that's like a whole meal'...we agreed that 300 calories is not a meal (pffft I think my roast potatoes are about 300 calories alone!) and proceeded to eat the éclairs...so I had to try extra hard bouldering yesterday resulting in my typing this with claw-hand and having a rather uncomfortable day at work with aching arms! Ah well life's too short not to each the occasional éclair or 3!

Other than stuffing my face and then trying to work it off I've of course been looking at home inspiration...

This little work corner is lovely, I'd like this as a home office space as it's not too big and also so pretty you wouldn't mind looking at it out of work hours...although chances are if I you actually worked here it wouldn't stay that pretty for long
This bathroom is unfinished here but the bath and pouffe are gorgeous, and the mirror is probably way out of my price range but looks fab. The bath in front of a big window like that...gorgeous to stare out at the scenery or night sky while soaking in the tub (providing you don't have neighbours very close unless you're a total exhibitionist!) would be so soothing
I am jealous of these windows with their multiple panes and different options for opening, and the ceiling height. We will never be able to grow a tree in our flat! This girls flikr feed is pretty good actually with some lovely interiors as well as others
As usual more on my pinterest page - warning it has been over taken a little with wedding pins! It's never ending inspiration, I start most wedding talk (Ok ok most sentences altogether) now with 'I saw this thing on pinterest...'

Wednesday 18 September 2013

Week 3

Started in the bedroom this week which is great as it's one of those rooms with a bit more clutter than the others! Back story on the big declutter here, here, here and here

The list this week was:
Bedroom – Kate’s wardobe - Wed
Bedroom – Tom’s wardrobe - Tue
Bedroom – Makeup and cosmetics - Fri
Bedroom – Ottomans - Sat
Bedroom – Ottomans - Sun
Bedroom – Under the bed - Tue
Bedroom – Under the bed - Wed
Bedroom – Trunk - Mon

Remember - All 20 minutes each and leaving the stuff in the 3 categories (although ours have now kind of morphed into one huge pile due to lack of space to spread them out but we'll sort that out at the end!).

I did change them around this week a bit as there is a bit of mould back on the wall and ottoman on Toms wardrobe again so I wanted to do the ottomans over the weekend and give them all a good clean while I was there. It's condensation mould I think, as it isn't coming up from the floor or down from the ceiling like damp, it has just appeared in a fine layer on the middle of the wall, wardrobe and ottoman. We're trying to control it but will let the landlord know as if we keep cleaning the wall the paint is going to start coming off!

I actually haven't started under the bed properly yet (we went climbing yesterday after work, then food shopping then the next installment of The Walking Dead came on DVD so we got distracted!) but kind of inadvertently started it when I did the ottomans as one had loads of space in so I moved some Christmas decorations from under the bed into it. Tuesday is Toms day off and I left him his clothes to go through and the one ottoman which is full of his stuff.

Ottoman one (those are empty boxes which for some reason I keep, both the playstation and Wii are about 5 years old, not much chance we'll be returning them!)
 Boxes out
Spare pillows and rest of Christmas decorations in. We now have a bit more room in the hallway wardrobe and under the bed we gained 2 whole storage boxes which did have these decorations in them
The trunk also had a pretty massive overhaul. I've come to terms with the fact recently that I do not wear heels nearly as often as I think I do, and when I do I can't walk in them. So most of my 'dress up' shoes in here went, along with a lot of little clutch bags and loads of belts. I kept the big bag on the top I just put it with my shopping bags where it'll get used as I kind of forgot about it in there!
Perfect room for my climbing backpack and harness, which have just been hanging around in the hallway
I'll do under the bed later today and tomorrow, but look at the pile to go - we're making good progress!
 There are also all these books behind it under the chairs
I didn't get a photo of the second ottoman as Tom took a few things out of it to add to the to go pile and very nicely put it straight back on top of the wardrobe,so now I can't reach it! However, it also now has some empty space in it so once we've done under the bed there might be more things to go in there.

Monday 16 September 2013

Autumn is here...

Well summer left quite rapidly didn’t it? Last Monday we awoke to rain and cold, the temperature hasn’t really recovered since, and the mornings and evenings are getting darker by the day. We can get a few nice days still in September (actually it’s often quite nice) but even if it is clear and dry the temperature is considerably lower.
I actually quite like this time of year (although not as much as summer!) because being cold is still a novelty and it’s not too cold – just enough to need a jacket and to close the windows, not cold enough for central heating just yet! Things like getting snuggled in a blanket in the evening, putting on thick warm socks, cooking Sunday roast dinner (I never do this in summer) and getting out the winter coats seem new and cosy, I’m usually bored of it by November though!
The question is, do you change your décor for the seasons?
I know soon enough it will be Christmas decorations, but do we make any other changes to account for the change in the weather? Our only allowance seems to be that we get the blankets out on the sofa more, they’re always there just through summer are usually folded up on the arm or down the side of the sofa, and we have them out more once it gets colder. I’d like to get some nicer ones one day, with a nice pattern or a bit bigger or thicker. However with the cats they often just end up covered in hair (Minty loves to get under them with us for some reason!) and being used to cover the sofa cushions.
We also have less flowers and plants around, so the monthly flower posts might drop off (I’ve already not done one for August and September as I’ve not had any!) and the garden will go into hibernation (I’ll do an update on our outside preparations for winter soon).
We naturally spend a lot more time indoors over the winter, so it seems an ideal time to start thinking about projects and home related things. I want to get my home organised this autumn/winter, starting with the big declutter then moving on to rearranging some rooms once we are free of some of the rubbish cluttering them up. I think we have spaces, like the hallway, which we could use better, and we have a lot of things we do not need cluttering up other areas.
We are also going to be busy this winter sorting wedding stuff and squirreling away money, so I’ll be saving up and trying to maybe get some extra income (you may have noticed ads have arrived at TenantChic). This also means there might be more posts on the wedding blog, although that is really just a sideline so I’m not making any promises. Projects will also be very low budget for the near future!
The main thing I do to prepare for winter is I’ll rotate my wardrobe and my hair/beauty products soon, probably once we’re back from our holiday (which is coming up, yay!), to move the colder weather stuff to the front and put my summer stuff in storage or move it to the back. Although I try to not have too much season/occasion specific stuff some is unavoidable. I try to have dresses I can wear in the summer but also in winter with tights and maybe a top underneath, and also things I can dress up or down.
I’m also really into clothes swapping at the moment, after my wardrobe cull back here I’m sending off anything that didn’t sell on eBay to this website. It’s a great idea for saving money and also being more eco friendly. They’re quite strict on what you send in and it is all approved before sending so you don’t get the usual tat on there (Primark T-shirts that cost about £2 originally and have been worn, what’s the point? Just give it to charity!), it’s all as new stuff. I got a Next dress with the tags still on from here a while ago and had a large delivery last week of holiday stuff like a few sun dresses and shorts. I’m sending in more stuff regularly (you have to pay to post it in of course so I’m kind of sending it in dribs and drabs when I can get to the post office and have a few quid spare) and then when I want new clothes I shop on there with my credits rather than spending money. It helps keep my clothes to a minimum and makes me refresh my wardrobe more often as it makes me to get rid of one thing to get another. I do still shop outside of there though! For example they didn’t really have any sandals I liked or any maxi skirts which were the 2 specific things I wanted for holiday so I bought those from ASOS in the sale.
All in all not much change other than trying to maximise our space still and reorganising which seems to be an endless task!
How do you get ready for the colder weather? Do you have any winter décor that you bring out once it gets colder? Or does your home stay pretty much the same?

p.s. I'm taking part in this - head over to see a round up of some good projects!

Friday 13 September 2013

Friday Inspiration

Feeling tired and bit like I might be coming down with something this week, maybe just a sign that I haven't had a holiday yet! Usually we go in May but this year decided to go later...and I cannot wait!

We did have a lovely day Sunday this week, going to the bride & groom show at Cheltenham town hall and getting lots of inspiration and leaflets. We then strolled back through town to pick up a few things with some vouchers and coupons we had, went for a bouldering session then cooked a roast dinner..perfect Sunday!

Lots of home inspiration this week (and not all offices this time!)...

I would love a dining nook in the kitchen, with benches and modern table like this one
This bathroom is just gorgeous...so rich and luxurious yet calming and serene as well...I spy an open shower and a dressing room to the back as well.
I pinned this for the subway tile (surprise surprise) but the letters are pretty cool and the tap is nice although brushed nickel finish isn't my favourite
Happy Friday everyone! I'm looking forward to the weekend, absolutely knackered cannot wait to sink into my bed tonight...xx

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Week 2

For the back story on my decluttering project see the first, second and third posts. Another hit and miss week for me, I finished off the hallway (Tom is yet to go through his music stuff) and started on the dining room which is pretty straightforward as there actually isn't a lot in there. I did miss a few days but to be honest could do the whole dining area in under 20 minutes so I wasn't too worried about catching up and doing a few areas together. 

The list so far is:

  1. Hallway – Books
  2.  Hallway – Cupboard
  3. Hallway – Small ottomans
  4. Hallway – Music equipment
  5. Hallway – Shoes
  6. Hallway – Surfaces
  7. Hallway – Misc
  8. Dining – Table
  9. Dining – Boxes on tank
  10. Dining – Pet supplies
  11. Dining – Misc
  12. Bedroom – Chest of drawer
  13. Bedroom – Kate’s wardrobe (today)

The hallway needed a bit of a tidy and I did get rid of some things but it was mainly just stuff for the bin, like junk mail on the table and a load of post for the previous tenants that I needed to return to sender that I finally got round to doing (If you recognise this flat and used to live here, hey here's an idea, CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS!). 
We had the computer set up there to get all the photos and files off it, it's now in the to go pile! We had that old desktop (storing our photos and used to be our main computer but so outdated), an old laptop (nearly dead only keeping it as the desktop doesn't do itunes) and my netbook (solely for internet browsing). So 3 computers that all do and don't do different things! Now we've amalgamated them into one laptop and one netbook, so much easier! 
I also chucked out a few litter tray liner packets that had accumulated in the cupboard. 2 of the blue boxes on the shelves don't even have anything in them so not much I can declutter there, although it's still great to look over it and get rid of a few bits. The bonus of going through these means that I did look through our envelopes of vouchers and we discovered we have over £100 of Debenhams vouchers as well as smaller amounts for other places like WHSmith, so we went into town on Sunday and bought a folder and some stationery for making a wedding folder as there were also little piles of brochures, business cards etc around  :) 
I also started the bedroom yesterday with my chest of drawers. I did a quite large clothes cull back here, but did find a few bits I could get rid of like some underwear that has gotten a bit tatty (not going to share photos!) and I'm going to do the wardrobe this evening, I think I do have a few dresses I could get rid of as even though I've gotten rid of some the wardrobe is still overflowing. 

I think it's going well, any clutter out is a good thing, there will be some areas with more than others so this week being a bit slower than last week isn't a bad thing. 

Have you been taking part or has this inspired you to declutter any of your stuff? How are you getting on?

Monday 9 September 2013

Lavender Layout

Back here I picked some lavender to dry out, and it's been around a month. Most of the tutorials I read said to leave it somewhere between 2 weeks to a month. Sooo...this is the result
Pretty much every method worked! If you're drying the lavender to use on display whole (like around a candle or hanging on show rather than in drawer fresheners) then hanging them might be better as the stalks stayed straighter. You can see the method back in the original post here, and I'll hopefully do something with it soon! Minty is there in the bottom right corner stealing a bit, she snuck up while I was taking the photo then ran off with it, I don't know if cats like lavender particularly or it's just our cats...

Friday 6 September 2013

Friday Inspiration

We've had a pretty busy week, September is a busy work month for Tom but he does have Sunday off so looking forward to a day together maybe going to a local wedding fair then bouldering if the warehouse is open! I went to a wedding open day at our venue last Sunday which was nice, as it's not easy to just go up and look around (it's not a public building) we want to take every opportunity to go up there and have a look around, also my family were keen to go and have a look so it was nice to take my sisters, mum, Toms mum, Toms sister and my Gran there to show them around as it might be the only time they see it before the day!

Still been on Pinterst of course, in fact Tom got a new laptop for us last week with his vouchers from work (he gets love2shop vouchers  as a bonus), as our old desktop is knackered and my netbook can't cope with being the main computer and having to store all our photos etc, so I've been enjoying it on a larger screen and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the better picture quality and how much faster it is!

To go with our new laptop, maybe a new desk! I like the neutral colours and the glass desk here, although I'd need more storage in a proper office, and the relaxed feel is quite a nice vibe for a work area.
This entire apartment is beautiful (and in Paris, a beautiful city) and it has a garden, but this work area really drew me in. I've evidently got a thing for offices this week but I really like this setup, the shelves keep the desk clear to work at and the armchair looks so comfy!
Another office! I actually did not plan this it is just what I've been pinning, maybe I miss the desk...

This garden office would be perfect for someone working from home, giving you a space away from your living space. Even just as a library or reading room it would be gorgeous at the end of the garden!
Have a fun weekend everyone!x

Wednesday 4 September 2013

First week, how you doin'?

Starting is the hardest thing sometimes, so we've passed that obstacle! First week of the big declutter (see posts last week for the how to), how are you getting on?

This week went like this for me:
Day 1 - Books - Did really well, got rid of loads, actually down to one bookshelf now! I seem to keep loads of books that have been read and neither of us will ever read again, also there were some not read (gifts/mistake buys and ones Tom has bought for holidays but never read) that we just needed to get real about never reading and get rid of. I actually rediscovered the library recently so I'm working on not having so many books around and borrowing them more than buying them.


Day 2 - Went to a wedding fair at our venue (great day, lovely weather, took loads of cards and brochures from vendors) then out for dinner. Got nothing done, already off the plan!

Day 3 - Got 2 things done as they were both small jobs - The cupboard (I went through it recently so only 2 old wicker baskets to get rid of) and the shoe racks. Got them both done in under 20 minutes so made up for the day before.
 The pile to get rid of looked like this
Day 4 - Tom finally went through that box of stuff that has been in here since we moved in (you can still see it in the corner of the picture above!), and we did the small ottomans - not much from there a few cats bowls and some kitchen stuff.

Day 5 - Surfaces (I will get Tom to do his music stuff on his next day off), mostly just stuff for the bin like junk mail and leaflets.

So the first week looks like:
  1. Hallway - Books - Done
  2. Hallway – Cupboard - Done
  3. Hallway – Small ottomans - Done
  4. Hallway – Music equipment
  5. Hallway – Shoes - Done
  6. Hallway – Surfaces - Done
  7. Hallway – Misc
And the stuff to go looks like this
 Loads for just under a week!

I'll have the miscellaneous day tomorrow for any areas I've missed and just a general second look, and Tom has agreed he will at least look through his music stuff as there are maybe some things that don't work properly he could get rid of...Sunday might be the day for that!

I also need to get more boxes as I've just been putting everything into one box rather than splitting it into the 3 separate categories, so will sort that out this weekend. Being the weirdo that I am I'm actually enjoying this...

Monday 2 September 2013

If we owned our flat

Time for this months look at what we would do if this place was ours, Wednesday will be an update on the start of the decluttering, so if you're joining in stop by and let us know how you're getting on.

If this was our flat I'd have more kitchen storage, seriously we only have one upper cabinet! The boiler is in one so only the one on the right can be actually used.
3 of the 4 walls in the kitchen have no upper storage on them, and we only have 4 usable cabinets and one drawer in the kitchen. It's such a random design, I'd have upper cabinets on one wall (Like continuing round in an L shape above the 'breakfast bar' and joining up to the current one on the right) and some open shelves on another, probably open shelves on the wall with the window so not to block any light.
It would really help get stuff off the counter tops and make the kitchen a bit more functional, the only reason I could see as to why it isn't already there would be as it's a small kitchen too many overhead cabinets might make it feel a little closed in, which is why I would do open shelving on one side.